If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
janice, you wrote:
I was interested to see you mention your sciatica. This is something that has entered my life for the first time ever, during the past few months. It's never been a problem before, even at my highest weight, and I've been asking myself if it's something that might clear up if I complete my weight loss journey, but I didn't really believe it would - unlike the pains in my feet which do clear up each time I lose weight, and return each time I regain it If it's not too boring, can you say a bit more about your sciatica and how it changed as you lost weight - it might help inspire me. I'd be glad to share. First, a little background: I have a history of DVT which has tendency to want to kill me by throwing off blood clots into my lungs (three so far), and without a discernable physiological cause my doctor has me on blood thinners for life. That precludes me from taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Ibuprofin or Celebrex for pain, so I'm limited to either Tylenol or Vicodin (which is Tylenol plus Codeine). Tylenol doesn't do much for my pain relief and the Vicodin just wipes me out, so I've sort of been trying to avoid pain for the last couple of years. My sciatica began around five years ago, I was 60-70 pounds overweight then and was about two years into my foot problems (plantar fasciitis). I learned that a "spell" was about to come on when my butt, my right cheek, would start getting sore for no apparent reason. Then I would get the sharp throbbing pains down the right leg for a week or two. The doctor told me I had a disc in my spine which was deteriorating, so the progression of pressure on the sciatic nerve is inevitable. Being very tall doesn't help; when I'm lifting or pushing things my back has to support a lot of force. The only relief would be to strengthen my back. Trying to get better through immobility (hah!) I became less and less active. The key, I thought, was to just keep my spine in a neutral position. Back then, if I wanted to, I could wiggle my lower back around and feel the nerve being pinched. Since my feet hurt I couldn't walk to help my back muscles, and being overweight I couldn't do the exercises to help. Since my back hurt I couldn't do the foot exercises to help my heel spurs. Since I was on blood thinners I couldn't take the medications which would ease the pain. So, I started dieting. I think the weight loss helped in a couple of ways. First, I carried most of my excess weight out front and that didn't help my spine stay neutral. With the weight loss my feet improved to the point where I could walk again, and walking helps the back. Getting off my butt and moving around is helping strengthen all my back muscles which helps support my spine. I'm still very careful to avoid twisting my lower back, and the safety posters saying "lift with your knees, not your back" don't lie. I now use knee pads when gardening, make sure I grab something to help me stand up, lift with my knees, walk a lot, and my weight is now better balanced over my hips. I don't know if my experiences are normal or if my cause/effect assumptions are correct, but I'm happy. All I really know is that my back hasn't given me problems for awhile; I can do things now I couldn't do just last year; and I won't go back to the way I was. Hope this helps, janice. The older we get the more we have to take care of ourselves. I wish I believed that ten years ago, but all young(ish) people are invincible. Like my father said when he was 83, "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would've taken better care of myself." - Dewolla |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:04:07 GMT, "Dewolla Stepon"
wrote: janice, you wrote: If it's not too boring, can you say a bit more about your sciatica and how it changed as you lost weight - it might help inspire me. I'd be glad to share. First, a little background: I have a history of DVT which has tendency to want to kill me by throwing off blood clots into my lungs (three so far), and without a discernable physiological cause my doctor has me on blood thinners for life. That precludes me from taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Ibuprofin or Celebrex for pain, so I'm limited to either Tylenol or Vicodin (which is Tylenol plus Codeine). Tylenol doesn't do much for my pain relief and the Vicodin just wipes me out, so I've sort of been trying to avoid pain for the last couple of years. My sciatica began around five years ago, I was 60-70 pounds overweight then and was about two years into my foot problems (plantar fasciitis). I learned that a "spell" was about to come on when my butt, my right cheek, would start getting sore for no apparent reason. Then I would get the sharp throbbing pains down the right leg for a week or two. The doctor told me I had a disc in my spine which was deteriorating, so the progression of pressure on the sciatic nerve is inevitable. Being very tall doesn't help; when I'm lifting or pushing things my back has to support a lot of force. The only relief would be to strengthen my back. Trying to get better through immobility (hah!) I became less and less active. The key, I thought, was to just keep my spine in a neutral position. Back then, if I wanted to, I could wiggle my lower back around and feel the nerve being pinched. Since my feet hurt I couldn't walk to help my back muscles, and being overweight I couldn't do the exercises to help. Since my back hurt I couldn't do the foot exercises to help my heel spurs. Since I was on blood thinners I couldn't take the medications which would ease the pain. So, I started dieting. I think the weight loss helped in a couple of ways. First, I carried most of my excess weight out front and that didn't help my spine stay neutral. With the weight loss my feet improved to the point where I could walk again, and walking helps the back. Getting off my butt and moving around is helping strengthen all my back muscles which helps support my spine. I'm still very careful to avoid twisting my lower back, and the safety posters saying "lift with your knees, not your back" don't lie. I now use knee pads when gardening, make sure I grab something to help me stand up, lift with my knees, walk a lot, and my weight is now better balanced over my hips. I don't know if my experiences are normal or if my cause/effect assumptions are correct, but I'm happy. All I really know is that my back hasn't given me problems for awhile; I can do things now I couldn't do just last year; and I won't go back to the way I was. Hope this helps, janice. The older we get the more we have to take care of ourselves. I wish I believed that ten years ago, but all young(ish) people are invincible. Like my father said when he was 83, "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would've taken better care of myself." - Dewolla Thanks for the information Dewolla. The pains start in my right cheek too and extend down my thigh. I haven't taken any pain killers as I'm not in pain all day, but it's always with me when I do the things that make it hurt - going upstairs in particular, and sometimes I feel it when I walk and sometimes I don't. I still do long walks as I won't let this stop me. The worst thing is I find it hard to lie in any position in bed that doesn't bring on the shooting pains in my backside, which disturbs my sleep. Sometimes I can't get comfortable on a hard chair, but this only happens occasionally. I carry nearly all my weight on my hips and thighs. I do wonder if the pain is worst going upstairs because of having to hoist my weight up on that leg. I'm so glad you've got rid of your symptoms, and I will use this as another incentive to finish my weight loss journey! thanks again janice 233/183/133 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
Getting a good massage will help with the pain from sciatica...at least it
helps me. I have problems with flareups when I squat heavy or do Good Mornings. One warning though...the actual massage process on the nerve can be a bit painful, but take heart that relief is right around the corner. Good luck...it is not fun, I know! Elise. "janice" wrote in message ... On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:04:07 GMT, "Dewolla Stepon" wrote: janice, you wrote: If it's not too boring, can you say a bit more about your sciatica and how it changed as you lost weight - it might help inspire me. I'd be glad to share. First, a little background: I have a history of DVT which has tendency to want to kill me by throwing off blood clots into my lungs (three so far), and without a discernable physiological cause my doctor has me on blood thinners for life. That precludes me from taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Ibuprofin or Celebrex for pain, so I'm limited to either Tylenol or Vicodin (which is Tylenol plus Codeine). Tylenol doesn't do much for my pain relief and the Vicodin just wipes me out, so I've sort of been trying to avoid pain for the last couple of years. My sciatica began around five years ago, I was 60-70 pounds overweight then and was about two years into my foot problems (plantar fasciitis). I learned that a "spell" was about to come on when my butt, my right cheek, would start getting sore for no apparent reason. Then I would get the sharp throbbing pains down the right leg for a week or two. The doctor told me I had a disc in my spine which was deteriorating, so the progression of pressure on the sciatic nerve is inevitable. Being very tall doesn't help; when I'm lifting or pushing things my back has to support a lot of force. The only relief would be to strengthen my back. Trying to get better through immobility (hah!) I became less and less active. The key, I thought, was to just keep my spine in a neutral position. Back then, if I wanted to, I could wiggle my lower back around and feel the nerve being pinched. Since my feet hurt I couldn't walk to help my back muscles, and being overweight I couldn't do the exercises to help. Since my back hurt I couldn't do the foot exercises to help my heel spurs. Since I was on blood thinners I couldn't take the medications which would ease the pain. So, I started dieting. I think the weight loss helped in a couple of ways. First, I carried most of my excess weight out front and that didn't help my spine stay neutral. With the weight loss my feet improved to the point where I could walk again, and walking helps the back. Getting off my butt and moving around is helping strengthen all my back muscles which helps support my spine. I'm still very careful to avoid twisting my lower back, and the safety posters saying "lift with your knees, not your back" don't lie. I now use knee pads when gardening, make sure I grab something to help me stand up, lift with my knees, walk a lot, and my weight is now better balanced over my hips. I don't know if my experiences are normal or if my cause/effect assumptions are correct, but I'm happy. All I really know is that my back hasn't given me problems for awhile; I can do things now I couldn't do just last year; and I won't go back to the way I was. Hope this helps, janice. The older we get the more we have to take care of ourselves. I wish I believed that ten years ago, but all young(ish) people are invincible. Like my father said when he was 83, "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would've taken better care of myself." - Dewolla Thanks for the information Dewolla. The pains start in my right cheek too and extend down my thigh. I haven't taken any pain killers as I'm not in pain all day, but it's always with me when I do the things that make it hurt - going upstairs in particular, and sometimes I feel it when I walk and sometimes I don't. I still do long walks as I won't let this stop me. The worst thing is I find it hard to lie in any position in bed that doesn't bring on the shooting pains in my backside, which disturbs my sleep. Sometimes I can't get comfortable on a hard chair, but this only happens occasionally. I carry nearly all my weight on my hips and thighs. I do wonder if the pain is worst going upstairs because of having to hoist my weight up on that leg. I'm so glad you've got rid of your symptoms, and I will use this as another incentive to finish my weight loss journey! thanks again janice 233/183/133 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
Getting a good massage will help with the pain from sciatica...at least it
helps me. I have problems with flareups when I squat heavy or do Good Mornings. One warning though...the actual massage process on the nerve can be a bit painful, but take heart that relief is right around the corner. Good luck...it is not fun, I know! Elise. "janice" wrote in message ... On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 14:04:07 GMT, "Dewolla Stepon" wrote: janice, you wrote: If it's not too boring, can you say a bit more about your sciatica and how it changed as you lost weight - it might help inspire me. I'd be glad to share. First, a little background: I have a history of DVT which has tendency to want to kill me by throwing off blood clots into my lungs (three so far), and without a discernable physiological cause my doctor has me on blood thinners for life. That precludes me from taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like Ibuprofin or Celebrex for pain, so I'm limited to either Tylenol or Vicodin (which is Tylenol plus Codeine). Tylenol doesn't do much for my pain relief and the Vicodin just wipes me out, so I've sort of been trying to avoid pain for the last couple of years. My sciatica began around five years ago, I was 60-70 pounds overweight then and was about two years into my foot problems (plantar fasciitis). I learned that a "spell" was about to come on when my butt, my right cheek, would start getting sore for no apparent reason. Then I would get the sharp throbbing pains down the right leg for a week or two. The doctor told me I had a disc in my spine which was deteriorating, so the progression of pressure on the sciatic nerve is inevitable. Being very tall doesn't help; when I'm lifting or pushing things my back has to support a lot of force. The only relief would be to strengthen my back. Trying to get better through immobility (hah!) I became less and less active. The key, I thought, was to just keep my spine in a neutral position. Back then, if I wanted to, I could wiggle my lower back around and feel the nerve being pinched. Since my feet hurt I couldn't walk to help my back muscles, and being overweight I couldn't do the exercises to help. Since my back hurt I couldn't do the foot exercises to help my heel spurs. Since I was on blood thinners I couldn't take the medications which would ease the pain. So, I started dieting. I think the weight loss helped in a couple of ways. First, I carried most of my excess weight out front and that didn't help my spine stay neutral. With the weight loss my feet improved to the point where I could walk again, and walking helps the back. Getting off my butt and moving around is helping strengthen all my back muscles which helps support my spine. I'm still very careful to avoid twisting my lower back, and the safety posters saying "lift with your knees, not your back" don't lie. I now use knee pads when gardening, make sure I grab something to help me stand up, lift with my knees, walk a lot, and my weight is now better balanced over my hips. I don't know if my experiences are normal or if my cause/effect assumptions are correct, but I'm happy. All I really know is that my back hasn't given me problems for awhile; I can do things now I couldn't do just last year; and I won't go back to the way I was. Hope this helps, janice. The older we get the more we have to take care of ourselves. I wish I believed that ten years ago, but all young(ish) people are invincible. Like my father said when he was 83, "If I'd known I was going to live this long I would've taken better care of myself." - Dewolla Thanks for the information Dewolla. The pains start in my right cheek too and extend down my thigh. I haven't taken any pain killers as I'm not in pain all day, but it's always with me when I do the things that make it hurt - going upstairs in particular, and sometimes I feel it when I walk and sometimes I don't. I still do long walks as I won't let this stop me. The worst thing is I find it hard to lie in any position in bed that doesn't bring on the shooting pains in my backside, which disturbs my sleep. Sometimes I can't get comfortable on a hard chair, but this only happens occasionally. I carry nearly all my weight on my hips and thighs. I do wonder if the pain is worst going upstairs because of having to hoist my weight up on that leg. I'm so glad you've got rid of your symptoms, and I will use this as another incentive to finish my weight loss journey! thanks again janice 233/183/133 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
"Dewolla Stepon" wrote in message
news:r9wJc.82935$a24.20927@attbi_s03... This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. I've been calling it my hip. I thought maybe it was tendonitis in my hip. I'm pretty much Ok if I'm up and moving but the moment I sit down or lie down its unbearable. This was just last week when it got worse because I was working allot of hours. 2 nights I spent up and down from bed, until I went exhausted, and slightly hysterical to the sofa and finally got a couple of hours sleep. I have tried every over the counter pain med I could find and even resorted to taking a vicoden I had gotten from the dentist some time back which didn't bring allot of relief. I was blaming this on working too much and my broken tailbone from several years back. Since I've had a few days off the pain has lightened up. I had no idea sciatica existed. Thanks for the thread. I'm going to have this checked out. Any suggestions on how to manage this when it's worse? Susan 280/189(yay! another lb down today)/140 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
"susanjoneslewis" wrote in message m... "Dewolla Stepon" wrote in message news:r9wJc.82935$a24.20927@attbi_s03... This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. I've been calling it my hip. I thought maybe it was tendonitis in my hip. I'm pretty much Ok if I'm up and moving but the moment I sit down or lie down its unbearable. This was just last week when it got worse because I was working allot of hours. 2 nights I spent up and down from bed, until I went exhausted, and slightly hysterical to the sofa and finally got a couple of hours sleep. I have tried every over the counter pain med I could find and even resorted to taking a vicoden I had gotten from the dentist some time back which didn't bring allot of relief. I was blaming this on working too much and my broken tailbone from several years back. Since I've had a few days off the pain has lightened up. I had no idea sciatica existed. Thanks for the thread. I'm going to have this checked out. Any suggestions on how to manage this when it's worse? Susan 280/189(yay! another lb down today)/140 I don't know much about sciatica other than the people I know who have it don't find much relief from medications. I do know a bit about broken tailbones though. I broke mine in Dec. and it's never been the same since. Interestingly enough, it really flares up during PMS so there is some kind of cramps or swelling that is instigating it. I have a friend who broke her tailbone 8 years ago while delivering her daughter and she said it still flares up regularly. She recommended heat so I got those heat patches that you can stick right onto the lower back. They really seem to help and you can wear them under your clothes all day. I even work out with it on. Jenn |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 15:10:42 GMT, "susanjoneslewis"
wrote: "Dewolla Stepon" wrote in message news:r9wJc.82935$a24.20927@attbi_s03... This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. I've been calling it my hip. I thought maybe it was tendonitis in my hip. I'm pretty much Ok if I'm up and moving but the moment I sit down or lie down its unbearable. This was just last week when it got worse because I was working allot of hours. 2 nights I spent up and down from bed, until I went exhausted, and slightly hysterical to the sofa and finally got a couple of hours sleep. I have tried every over the counter pain med I could find and even resorted to taking a vicoden I had gotten from the dentist some time back which didn't bring allot of relief. I was blaming this on working too much and my broken tailbone from several years back. Since I've had a few days off the pain has lightened up. I had no idea sciatica existed. Thanks for the thread. I'm going to have this checked out. Any suggestions on how to manage this when it's worse? Susan 280/189(yay! another lb down today)/140 It does sound like what I have, Susan, which I have already described in this thread so won't repeat here. I started by thinking it was my hip, but then I realised that nerve pain made a lot more sense. Whether I've been in pain all night has no effect on whether it hurts during the following day. It can come and go and doesn't leave stiffness like a muscle pain would do. The first thing I was glad to find was that pain in the hip joint is felt mostly in the groin. I dread having arthritic hips. It was finally doing a lot of reading on the internet about symptoms (thigh pain, etc,) which led me to suspect sciatica, which although I'd heard of it I had no real idea what it was. I can't offer any suggestions for dealing with the pain when it gets really bad. Personally, I don't take pain killers unless pain is really unbearable. My worst problem with this is the shooting pains that come so often when I lie down. It does sound a lot like what you have. janice |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 15:10:42 GMT, "susanjoneslewis"
wrote: "Dewolla Stepon" wrote in message news:r9wJc.82935$a24.20927@attbi_s03... This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. I've been calling it my hip. I thought maybe it was tendonitis in my hip. I'm pretty much Ok if I'm up and moving but the moment I sit down or lie down its unbearable. This was just last week when it got worse because I was working allot of hours. 2 nights I spent up and down from bed, until I went exhausted, and slightly hysterical to the sofa and finally got a couple of hours sleep. I have tried every over the counter pain med I could find and even resorted to taking a vicoden I had gotten from the dentist some time back which didn't bring allot of relief. I was blaming this on working too much and my broken tailbone from several years back. Since I've had a few days off the pain has lightened up. I had no idea sciatica existed. Thanks for the thread. I'm going to have this checked out. Any suggestions on how to manage this when it's worse? Susan 280/189(yay! another lb down today)/140 It does sound like what I have, Susan, which I have already described in this thread so won't repeat here. I started by thinking it was my hip, but then I realised that nerve pain made a lot more sense. Whether I've been in pain all night has no effect on whether it hurts during the following day. It can come and go and doesn't leave stiffness like a muscle pain would do. The first thing I was glad to find was that pain in the hip joint is felt mostly in the groin. I dread having arthritic hips. It was finally doing a lot of reading on the internet about symptoms (thigh pain, etc,) which led me to suspect sciatica, which although I'd heard of it I had no real idea what it was. I can't offer any suggestions for dealing with the pain when it gets really bad. Personally, I don't take pain killers unless pain is really unbearable. My worst problem with this is the shooting pains that come so often when I lie down. It does sound a lot like what you have. janice |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
"susanjoneslewis" wrote:
This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. And it also sounds like what got me out the door walking on February 20, 2002. Nothing made the pain stop except walking for a week. The rest is history g -- Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
sciatica, for janice
On 18 Jul 2004 02:03:30 GMT, SnugBear wrote:
"susanjoneslewis" wrote: This is interesting to me because I think I may have suffered from this just recently. It rings allot of bells. I have this ache in my left butt cheek that radiates down my left leg. And it also sounds like what got me out the door walking on February 20, 2002. Nothing made the pain stop except walking for a week. The rest is history g I wish walking had cured me Laurie. I managed to do a week's hillwalking earlier in the summer but the pain was still bad every night when I lay down. Thank goodness it hasn't actually stopped me going for long walks, anyway. janice |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|